In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 116

Chapter 116: Career Path and Supplementary Lessons

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“Soukei University, Meihou University, Aikyou University… Which one should I choose as my first pick?”

Muttering as she browsed an exam bulletin board online was Yamagata Maya, former captain of the “Yuu☆Watch Squad.”

“Senpai, are you planning to take external entrance exams?”

Reacting instantly to Maya’s muttering was Yuki, the current captain of the “Romance Support Squad.” She happened to be in the middle of planning the “Shoot the Horse Strategy” to help Maya’s first love succeed.

“I’m still thinking about it. It’s a little late, but lately I’ve started feeling like it might be good to step out into a different world from college onward.”

“I totally understand how you feel. Catherine is fun and really comfortable, but sometimes I get a little anxious, wondering if it’s really okay to just stay like this.”

At Saint Catherine Academy, where students could move up internally via an escalator system, there was little change in human relationships between students. Although the school was strict with guidance regarding academics and daily life, it was fundamentally overly protective over its student social life. 

“Right? During the exchange event, it wasn’t another school like Azuchi Momoyama Academy, which has a similar environment to us, but students from Eika Shuuei Academy, who live in a competitive society even though they’re boys, participated. It was like scales fell from my eyes. For the first time, I felt like I could truly recognize that there’s a whole world outside of Catherine.”

“That group of ikemen was shocking. I used to think boys were just selfish, arrogant, and spoiled brats, but they were totally different.”

They had been like ornamental flowers, raised in a greenhouse, suddenly being exposed to the winds of the “common people” world for the first time. For these girls, that exchange event was a major turning point where the imaginary men who had only existed in fiction until then dramatically transformed into real, tangible beings.

Since then, many students had naturally begun to notice aspects of reality they had either unconsciously excluded from their mind or had been blindfolded against seeing. Gradually but surely, it had led to a significant shift in their mind. They began questioning the tracks laid out for them by the families they belonged to.

“But isn’t it a bit reckless to switch to the general entrance exams route at this point?”

“Didn’t you get any recommendations?”

“I did, but you know how it is. Most of us either go to the top-level school or to a women’s college affiliated with Catherine, right? Because of that, recommendations from co-ed universities are extremely rare for us. So I don’t even know if I’ll get one from the faculty or department I want.”

“I see. Then I guess you might really need to get in through the general entrance exam then.”

“Yeah. But if I do that, I’m worried about my academic ability. I’ve been preparing for the internal exams to Saint Catherine Academy University, but I don’t think my preparation will be enough. I wonder how strong the competition for the general entrance exams is.”

“In that case, how about trying mock exams or summer prep courses? The students from Eika Shuuei we became friends with through the Support Squad said almost all of them participate in stuff like that.”

“Really? But there are so many options, I’m not even sure where to start.”

“Leave it to me. I’ve gathered solid intel on that. The girls enrolled in Class A of Eika Shuuei Academy, who are incredibly brilliant, have more or less already narrowed down the prep schools they attend.”

“But is it even possible to apply now?”

“They said as long as you pass the entrance exam, you can still get in. There are a few slots left because the exams are super tough. The places are Shunai Prep School, Ocha Leaf Prep School, and the Special Ultra ααα Class. If you apply now, you should be fine.”

“Thank you, Yuki. That really helps. I’ll try applying for the exam right away.”

“You’re very welcome. I’m happy to be of help.”

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“Okay, Takeda-kun, see you tomorrow. And here’s today’s assignment. It might be a little tough, but do your best to prepare for it.”

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

Even though it was summer break, I was coming to school for supplementary lessons. I had decided on Soukei University, which had an education department, as my target. I had been told that with my current grades, I could get in with a recommendation. But thinking about university life that awaited me after admission, I had been advised that it would be better to raise my academic ability a bit more, so I decided to ask for supplementary lessons.

This school really does everything they can to help and support the student. I’m really grateful for them.

Mathematics was my strong subject, so it seemed I would be fine as long as I kept solving entrance-level problems to ensure I wouldn’t get rusty. The math class at Soukei University’s education department was quite difficult, but I felt I would be able to pass the class just fine. I had a feeling I could keep up with the class. As for science… Science was a subject for general entrance exams, but not a required course after enrollment. I only needed to be ‘decent enough’ in science. 

On the other hand… I really needed to give my all in English. Soukei University had notoriously difficult English lessons. It would be a disaster if I ended up failing because of English, even after getting into the math department.

Hence why, I had asked for intensive English supplementary lessons. The contents of those lessons were so dense that my head felt like it was about to explode from all the vocabulary, idioms, and complex sentence structures. The assignments I was given were also quite tough.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just become an English master with something like, “Congratulations, you’re now an advanced English user!”

《Unfortunately, you have not yet acquired such skills.》

Huh? “Yet” means…There’s a possibility I could get it in the future?

《If your basic ability improves, there is a chance that skills will emerge.》

“If my basic ability improves,” huh? So in the end, it’s basically saying “work hard and build it up yourself”?

《It tends to be like that with language skills. 》

For physical skills, I was able to acquire them quickly, but I guess there were skills that were harder to get depending on their type. 

“Dad said something about it depending on your aptitude… Now I get it. Skills aren’t all-powerful and all-purpose after all.”

I accidentally spoke out loud in this empty classroom. 

Crap. If someone saw me, they’d totally think I was the kind of guy who talked to himself really loudly. The supplementary lesson was tough, but this was the university I had chosen myself.

Besides, the girls were all working so hard too.

If I was going to enroll in the same university as them, I couldn’t possibly just slack off and rely on the benefit provided from being born as a boy. I was already being treated favorably as it was. Cheating on the entrance exam by relying on skills would be wrong. 

Yeah. Relying on skills too much wouldn’t be good for my future either. Hence why… I just had to hang in there and kept working hard to achieve my goal!

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